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| Good morning. It’s Friday, Dec. 12, and if you’d like some fresh themes for your nightmares, watch this video of a skydiver dangling from a plane by a tangled parachute (he’s fine.) Now let’s get to the news. | |
 | Democrats demanded that Kristi Noem resign at a combative congressional hearing. | | |
 | Trump is threatening states that try to regulate artificial intelligence. | | | Trump speaks in the Oval Office after signing an executive order on artificial intelligence. (Al Drago/Reuters) | |
 | The White House signaled a campaign to seize more oil tankers near Venezuela. | | |
 | Paramilitary forces in Sudan are killing kidnapping victims who can’t pay huge ransoms. | - What’s happening? Survivors described atrocities in a western city carried out by a group allegedly backed by the UAE. One woman said her husband was killed in front of her.
- Zooming out: The U.N. has declared Sudan the site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Thousands have been killed and 12 million displaced over nearly three years of civil war.
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 | Professors are turning to an old method to stop students cheating on exams with AI. | - What is it? Oral exams. A growing number of educators are experimenting with quizzing their students face-to-face to circumvent the temptations presented by chatbots.
- More tech news: A Post analysis found that mental health videos are favored by TikTok’s algorithm. But one woman with OCD said the app made her symptoms worse.
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 | Record cold weather and snow will hit parts of the U.S. this weekend. | - The details: In total, 110 million people are predicted to experience single-digit or below-zero temperatures through next week. See if your area will be affected here.
- Also this weekend: You can spot the year’s best meteor shower on Saturday night — and you don’t even need a telescope. Follow these tips on how to get the best view.
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 | This tiny robot could someday swim through your arteries to heal you. | | | Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan describe their invention as the world’s smallest robot able to make decisions for itself. (Michael Simari/University of Michigan) | - A big (but teeny) breakthrough: Researchers built a robot with an onboard computer, sensors and a motor. The whole thing is less than 1 millimeter in size — smaller than a grain of salt.
- What it could someday do: Travel through the human body to rewire damaged nerves, deliver medicines and determine the health of a patient’s cells without surgery.
Before you go … it’s official: These are the 10 best movies of 2025. Plus:
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Hannah Jewell and 
